ORP Kaszub (1954)

ORP Kaszub was a small submarine of Soviet M class (postwar series XV) which served in the Polish Navy from 1954 to 1963.[1]

Kaszub grounded on the shoal, 1957
History
Poland
NameKaszub
OperatorPolish Navy
BuilderSudomekh Shipyard, Leningrad, USSR
Laid down10 November 1951
Launched27 May 1952, as M-290
Commissioned5 June 1954
DecommissionedDecember 1963
FateScrapped
Official Numbers:M-100, P-100, and 306
General characteristics
Class and typeM class submarine
Displacement281 tons surfaced; 351 tons submerged
Length50.0 m (164 ft 1 in)
Beam4.9 m (16 ft 1 in)
Draft3.6 m (11 ft 10 in)
Speed
  • 15 knots (28 km/h) surfaced
  • 10 knots (19 km/h) submerged
Complement32
Armament
  • 4 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes (2 bow, 2 stern)
  • 1 × 45 mm (2 in) semi-automatic gun

It was built in the Soviet Union in 1951-1952, and initially served in the Soviet Baltic Fleet as M-290. It was the first of six Soviet-made submarines to be transferred to the Polish Navy in the 1950s. The ceremony of raising the Polish flag on the submarine took place on June 5, 1954.

History

Construction

Kaszub was built at Sudomekh Shipyard in Leningrad, in shipyard No. 196. It was laid down on November 10, 1951, and launched on May 27, 1952.

Identification

While flying under the Polish flag, it changed alphanumeric markings. It started service as the  M-100 , then P-100 , and ended service with number 306.

1957 grounding incident

The most notable event in the submarine's history was the grounding near Krynica Morska on November 28, 1957. The commander of the ship made an unsuccessful attempt to get off the shoal, regardless of the extremely difficult conditions (strong wind, high waves, and low temperature). During the operation, two crew members lost their lives, and the ship was forced by the sea onto the beach. The submarine remained there until a rescue operation conducted by several units allowed Kaszub to be pulled into deeper water. Following this, the submarine was repaired and returned to service.

End of service and fate

Kaszub was decommissioned from the Navy in December 1963 and scrapped shortly thereafter.

References

  1. "Page about Polish submarines". Archived from the original on 2009-10-01. Retrieved 2009-10-13.


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